Document-file.



Patented May 20", I902.

. E. G. WATERS.

nocum-im' FILE.

(Application filed Mar. 26, 1901.)

2 Sheets-:Sh'aet l.

' Ear/en m: Mamas PETERS 00.. PnoTo-uma. WASHINGTON. n. c.

No. 700,267. Patented May 20,- I902.

E. s. WATERS.

DOCUMENT FILE.

(Application filed Mar. 26, 1901.) I i (No Model.) '2 Sheets- Sheet- 2;

ATENT F'FICE NITE STATES EDWA D e. WATE s; on NEW ,YORK, N. Y.

DOCUMENT-Fl LE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 700,267, dated May 2Q, 1902.

Application filed March 26, 1901 serial No. 52,892. (No model.)

ing drawings I show a form that Ihave found To aZZ whom it may concern} a very satisfactory and have adopted in prac- Be it known that I, EDWARD GUY WATERS,

of the borough of Manhattan, in the city 'and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Document-Files, of which the following is a descriptiom referring to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification. I

The object of the invention is to produce a simple, cheap, and fiat-lying file in which letters or other documents may-be filed at first temporarily and later permanently.

In .the drawings, Figure l is a view of the file open as in use while the documents. are accumulating and before permanently filing away. Fig.2 is an outside viewgindicating the method of transposing from temporary to permanent file. Fig. 3 is an enlarged'view showing the clip or clamping mechanism in detail. Fig. 4 is an outside view of the file ready for permanent closing. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are detail views of the clip or clamping mechanism.

In the drawings like reference-letters indicate like parts.

In its most complete form the invention comprises a temporary back or support which is provided with a peculiar clip or springclamp which holds the letters or other papers by their corners and which also serves'as'a guide or stop by which the letters may be quickly and accurately placed inproper position one on top of another and a cover consisting of a front member and a back memher with or without flaps like an envelopand means for detachably securing the temporary back to the back member of the cover. The letters or other documents'are temporarily filed one upon anotheron atemporary back and are securedthereto by 'the'clip orclamp, so that they may be conveniently read over without detaching them. vWhen the file is as full as desired or when the proper time for permanently filing .it away has arrived, the clip and temporary'back are detached from the letters or other papers and from the cover and the documents are permanently inclosed in the cover. The cover therefore forms a permanent file wrapper and may receive indorsements forming permanent records.

The invention is capable of embodiment in more than one form; but in the accompanytice.

The permanent cover is marked 12 b, temporary back a, and the clip Z Z.

Supposing the document-file to be intended for commercial letters, theback c is made slightly larger than commercial letter size. It may be made of tin or other stiif material;

the

but preferably it will be made of heavy cardboard stiffened at the upper left-hand corner tervals. to secure these-two parts rigidly together. An ear 'n should be left projecting in a convenient position to be held by one finger when the opposing ear n is being raised by another finger. The opposing member Z of the clamp or clip is composed of a spring portion g, preferably of wire, lying directly above'the wire f, and a metal plate g, secured to the wire gat the corner and provided with the earn and with a downturned-lip p in position to press upon the papers in'a line diagonally across the corners of the papers. The most convenient way to hold papers so that they can be easily and quicklyturned over in referring to them is by one-of the upper corners, as is well known. lipp on the upper spring member Z admirably serves this purpose.- The wires f and 9 may best be made in'a'single piece bent back upon itself at the points h min; but the wire g may be rigidly secured at these points-as, for example, by rolling the edge of the tin sheet which stiffens the back 0 over and around the wire g. Figs. 1 and 7 showthe manner'in which the upper member Z of- 'the clip presses uponandholds'the corners of the documents d against the corner. of the back a.

venting the letters from being thrust too far This diagonal upward or too far to the left, so that in filing a letter it is only necessary to raise the clip member Z and thrust the letter under it as far as it will readily go in a diagonal direction upward and toward the left. This guiding feature is a great advantage, being combined, as it is, with a filing device of scarcely greater thickness than the letters that will be contained in it when it is filled. Indeed, owing to the compression exerted by the clip upon the corners of the letters it would be found in practice that the upper clip member Z instead of lying above the top of smoothly but loosely placed letters will compress the corners so as to sink below the general level of the uppermost letter.

The back 0 is provided, preferably at its right-hand margin, with eyelets or other fastening means a, by which with the aid of a McGill or other fasteners the back 0 may be secured to the back member I) of the envelop or permanent filing-cover. The rear flap or back of the permanent cover should be slightly larger than the back 0, and the front fold I) should preferably be of the same size and provided with eyelets or holes 1', registering with the eyelets 1'. When it is desired to transfer the papers from temporary filing to permanent filing, the fasteners are detached from the back 0, and the documents are removed from the clip Z and placed within the permanent cover I) I1. I11 orderto better protect the papers, the flaps b may be provided at the upper and lower edges of the back Z) of the permanent cover.

Fig. 2 shows the letters in place behind the flaps I) of the permanent cover, and the temporary back 0 is shown entirely detached ready to be removed. In Fig. 4 the permanent cover is shown ready to be closed and secured by fastening the fasteners through the eyelets '1", so as to secure the documents in a closed envelop. If McGill fasteners are used, the permanent file may be easily opened for reference to its contents; but the invention also adapts itself admirably to the permanent sealing of the cover by means of ribbon or sealing-wax or other seals.

As often as papers are added to the temporary file they may be indorsed on the cover, as the cover forms a permanent part of the file. The temporary back 0 may be used repeatedly for different files. It will be seen that althoughthe clip or clamping mechanism is very thin, so as not to make the temporary file cumbersome, nevertheless it is entirely removed from the permanent file, so that great numbers of the permanent files maybe superposed and will pack evenly and levelly.

I claim as the novel and characteristic features of my invention the following:

1. A filing-back for documents, provided with a spring-clip having spring-guides extending from the clip approximately along at least one edge of the said back for guiding the papers, substantially as set forth.

2. A temporary back for filing documents, provided with a clip, one member of which is movable relatively to the said back and provided with means for pressing and securing the documents along a diagonal line, and spring-guides extending between the said clip member and the said back, substantially as set forth.

Signed this 21st day of March, 1901, at New York, N. Y.

EDW. e. WATERS.

lVitnesses:

E. VAN ZANDT, HENRY S. MonToN. 

